The Southeastern Conference is a breeding ground for NFL talent. The SEC had the most players selected in this year’s draft with a total of 49 taken in the seven rounds. The Miami Dolphins are not averse to this trend, and there seems to be one school that seems to be infiltrating the Dolphins roster more than any other: the University of Georgia.

The Dolphins have six former Bulldogs on their roster, two more than any other school. That could partially be a product of legendary Bulldogs’ Head Coach Mark Richt, who has led the ‘Dogs to 13 straight bowl games, including eight victories since he took over in 2001. Richt is proud not only of his team’s success at the college level, but also in the pro players Georgia has produced, and in an interview with The Finsiders, he talked about the current Bulldogs influence on the Miami Dolphins roster.

The Dolphins’ love for the SEC was on display a little bit during this year’s draft; as they selected three players from the conference, including using their fifth-round pick on Georgia tight end Arthur Lynch. Coach Richt sees Lynch as a great character guy with a high football IQ, and while it could take him a while to have on the field impact, he’ll surely be a great addition to the locker room.

“He’s got a lot of charisma, guys really gravitate to Artie,” said Richt. “He’s kind of a friend to everybody, he can relate to everybody. When he speaks, they really respect what he has to say. He grew into quite a young man, and he’s a really special person.”

“He’s very strong, I think he can block well, and he runs precise routes,” said Richt. “He understands that his way of getting open is going to be using his size and leverage, and his ability to screen people off and find separation with his size and ability to reach out and snatch a ball.”

“He explodes on contact…he catches the ball out of the backfield, and he can pass pro,” said Richt. He’s just a really dynamic back to me. He’s got great vision, great balance. He could make people miss in a short space better than anybody I’ve ever seen.”

And on the defensive side of the ball, Richt is extremely proud of the way Dolphins linebacker Dannell Ellerbe has developed as a player and person, and how despite a rough start in college, he’s become successful in the NFL.

“I’m as proud of Dannell about as anybody that’s come through the Georgia because he overcame a lot,” said Richt. “He actually had a rough start at Georgia. But he decided he was going to get his act together. He did, and he grew into a very fine young man. He got his degree, and he left on a high note.”

Oh, and about the other defensive playmaker in safety Reshad Jones? Richt thinks it’s a very good thing that he’s flourished in the NFL, because the constraints of the college game surely does not fit Jones’s headhunting abilities anymore. He joked that he wouldn’t last in games nowadays with the new rules in the college level.

“I don’t know if Reshad could play with the rules now in college,” said Richt. “He’d probably play every other game I would think with the way he likes to hit.”

Seeing former players reach their ultimate goal is a thrill for the Georgia coach, and he describes it as one of the best rewards of the coaching profession.

“It’s that thing in coaching that fires us up. We see them as young guys that are kind of knuckleheads, and we watch them grow up. I’m just really proud of all those guys.”

Please Note:
The opinions, analysis and/or speculation expressed by The Finsiders Blog represent those of individual writers, and unless quoted or clearly labeled as such, do not represent the opinions, policies or desires of the Miami Dolphins organization, front office, coaches and executives. Writers' views are formulated independently from any inside information and/or conversation with Dolphins officials, including the coaches and scouts, unless otherwise noted.

Ok here is a (IMO) Statement and this is for the people that make this a political or religious or sexual convo another words you that talk anything but FOOTBALL<<>this is what we other fans see when you blab>>>>>>>blahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblah.got it.

I think Jones said what a lot of people felt and it has nothing to do with 1st amendment rights or freedom or anything positive. He had two assists in ten games. So its not cause he is a great player either. Just a lot of scared people cause everything is changing and they don’t understand it. It would be like a caveman waking up today. He would crap himself in fear.

this pick was the Only one i didnt like a tightend? we have 3 solid starters Clay,Egnew and Sims who i really like but i guess you always have to upgrade so no one gets to lazy thinking there job is safe

Here is why the word hate is appropriate for what Jones tweeted and I could be wrong but I doubt it. If it had been two great looking women would he have said horrible? If it had been an 80 year old couple in a warm embrace would he have said horrible even though we can all agree that the thought of them having sex is not very appealing. If it ha been a couple of heterosexuals that weigh over 300 lbs would he have said horrible even though again the minds eye does not bring up a pretty picture of them doing the deed. Only Don Jones knows the answers to those questions but to register contempt at 2 people showing affection is within spitting distance of hate and there is no way around that fact.

So, including the 50 or so underclassmen who leave college and declare themselves eligible for the NFL draft, that’s a pool of 3,500 players who could be drafted. Now consider the number of players that were drafted by NFL teams in 2011: 254. In other words, only approximately 7% of eligible players get drafted. Those players then have to compete with everyone else on the roster, plus any undrafted college free agents (that is, players who weren’t drafted but are still offered the chance to try to make the roster), plus any other veterans or players from other leagues the team might want to check out, just to make it onto the Week 1 roster.

To make a long story short (too late), the odds of going from high school football to college football to the NFL are not good.

When I look at Lynch, he reminds be a bit of Jason Witten. I know he’s not as polished as Witten in the catching and play making ability as Witten, but he can turn to be a better than average offensive weapon while delivering great blocking ability.

The Dolphins owe their existence on the good will of people who are willing to pay for a product. When Don Jones opens his mouth to spew hate/disgust it isn’t political correctness but profit protectiveness that the Dolphins are trying to insure. The message is simple, keep your bigotry to yourself. When your bigotry looks to threaten our bottom line you’re employment will be in doubt..

What do you expect from the coach of a player selected into the NFL to say? That his players are not good???? Every coach from every team always says good things about their players that get selected. After all it is a reflection on them as a coach. Is Lynch our future TE? I am not sure. He wasn’t my pick, but I am not the GM as a lot of you have indicated. LOL! I am concerned with his dropped balls, but he is a hell of a blocker. But then I look at what we have at TE. Dion Sims, Michael Egnew and Kyle Miller? Charles Clay even though he did a great job last year really is an H-back. We have two FB/TE as well in Gator Hoskins and Emmanuel Ogbuehi. So Lynch has a great chance to make the team. If we can get more out of Sims he may be the starter. we know he has good hands. Maybe Lynch and Sims at double TE and Clay out of the backfield in goal line situations. At least we have some options now.

Wooten and Smith probably won’t make the 53 man roster but maybe the practice squad.

Hopefully Miami added 2 or 3 starters & at least 4 to 5 that crack the 53 man roster. If they accomplish that & at least 1 or 2 players flash pro bowl potential then it was a very successful draft. If they don’t come relatively close to that, then it was a disappointing & unsuccessful draft.

The Miami Dolphins are using Don Jones as a sacrificial lamb for political correctness. Why are they doing this? I believe they are doing this out of fear because of the Jonathan Martin scandal from last year. This is a totally different situation and yes they have the legal right to take this action against Don Jones as unfair as it is. However, Don Jones only used the word “horrible” for what he saw. That was the normal response from most people, since only 1.5 to 2 percent of the population engage in homosexual behavior. Same sex couples committed monogamous relationships do not last very long, a average of six months for men and two years for women. There is NO scientific evidence that people are born homosexual. The evidence and data points towards stunted emotional and psychological development. This is either caused by a poor relationship between the child and parent of the same sex or poor relationships with peers. The homosexual man says to himself that he will go out have sex with a total masculine man. However, a total masculine man will not want to have sex with another man, he would want to have sex with a woman. This makes homosexuality a paradox, and they live in a fantasy world searching for someone to meet a legitimate need the wrong way. That is why over 60 percent of active homosexual men in the United States are HIV positive. The homosexual male feels insecure in his masculinity and tries to achieve masculinity through another man, but when they find out that person cannot meet their need, they continue on from one partner to another, and live a promiscuous lifestyle. The Miami Dolphins have blocked anyone who disagree with their treatment of Don Jones from their facebook page. Again they have the right to do this. However, if the Miami Dolphins were so concern about homosexuals they would not punish their players who give a normal response to that behavior. All the Miami Dolphins care about is selling tickets and do not care about people. I hope other longtime Dolphin fans like myself will not support the Miami Dolphins since they do not care about alienating part of their fan base. Think of all the good things you could spend your hard earn money on, instead of a lousy product like the Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins are using Don Jones as a sacrificial lamb for political correctness. Why are they doing this? I believe they are doing this out of fear because of the Jonathan Martin scandal from last year. This is a totally different situation and yes they have the legal right to take this action against Don Jones as unfair as it is. However, Don Jones only used the word “horrible” for what he saw. That was the normal response from most people, since only 1.5 to 2 percent of the population engage in homosexual behavior. Same sex couples committed monogamous relationships do not last very long, a average of six months for men and two years for women. There is NO scientific evidence that people are born homosexual. The evidence and data points towards stunted emotional and psychological development. This is either caused by a poor relationship between the child and parent of the same sex or poor relationships with peers. The homosexual man says to himself that he will go out have sex with a total masculine man. However, a total masculine man will not want to have sex with another man, he would want to have sex with a woman. This makes homosexuality a paradox, and they live in a fantasy world searching for someone to meet a legitimate need the wrong way. That is why over 60 percent of active homosexual men in the United States are HIV positive. The homosexual male feels insecure in his masculinity and tries to achieve masculinity through another man, but when they find out that person cannot meet their need, they continue on from one partner to another, and live a promiscuous lifestyle. The Miami Dolphins have blocked anyone who disagree with their treatment of Don Jones from their facebook page. Again they have the right to do this. However, if the Miami Dolphins were so concern about homosexuals they would not punish their players who give a normal response to that behavior. All the Miami Dolphins care about is selling tickets and do not care about people. I hope other longtime Dolphin fans like myself will not support the Miami Dolphins since they do not care about alienating part of their fan base. Think of all the good things you could spend your hard earn money on, instead of a lousy product like the Miami Dolphins